Coronavirus testing site preparations underway in Broward, Miami-Dade

MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - Broward County is set to test people for the coronavirus, but it’s not as easy as you may think.

Officials said the public cannot show up at drive-thru locations because there’s protocol in place to get tested.

Broward County, as well as Miami-Dade County, are figuring out how to run the coronavirus testing sites smoothly.

“We’re working very closely with Jackson Memorial Hospital, the Department of Health and OCCA to make sure that we get drive-thru testing in locations around the county,” Miami-Dade County Deputy Mayor Jennifer Moon said.

Miami-Dade County is now trying to set up COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites, while plans for Broward are still on the drawing board.

“We want to put resources where there’s the greatest need,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

The state has set up and deployed three field hospitals in Ocala, Orlando and in Broward County. The state is also looking into U.S. Navy hospital ships to see if there’s some sort of capacity for them at Florida ports.

Officials are hoping the above measures will help with a possible overflow for people infected with the coronavirus.

The Florida National Guard has been mobilized to help set up and run the pop-up testing centers.

“What we do is a swabbing, we collect the sample, and then, we take proper measures to secure that sample and take it to the testing lab,” Florida National Guard Col. Richard Roig said.

So far, Memorial Hospital Regional, Broward Health and Cleveland Clinic are planning drive-thru sites, but many details still need to be ironed out.

“Would this be an open-ended testing component? The answer is absolutely not,” Stanley Marks, Memorial Healthcare System’s Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, said.

The coronavirus drive-thru testing sites will focus on people over the age of 65 who meet certain diagnostic criteria.

“We also want to make sure that those folks who are 65 and plus and are exhibiting symptoms that they have an easy way to go in and get tested,” DeSantis said. “They’ll be clear criteria, and then, you will hopefully be given a window of when to come, so that you’re not waiting in your car all day. Then, we can look at going beyond that.”

However, what exactly the criteria DeSantis mentioned will be remains somewhat unclear.

“We will firmly announce this very soon, but I can tell you the priority,” DeSantis said. “One group is going to be the healthcare workers.”

The location in West Palm Beach already shut down services to those who don’t already have an appointment, because those who showed exhausted the overwhelmed staff of protective gear and swabs to conduct the test.

Broward hospital groups are making it clear that not everyone will be eligible to be tested, and the National Guard is now training to make sure everything runs smoothly.

“There’s no need for them to get out of the vehicle when they come through, so we’ll be a very controlled environment so that our soldiers can do their job,” Roig said.

Community Health of South Florida will begin testing Wednesday for its regular clients only who have called ahead to make sure they meet certain criteria.

“The extent to which this is being spread in our society by people who have minimal symptoms and who may not be in these age groups is kind of a question that nobody really knows the actual answer to,” DeSantis said. “The more we can do the testing — I think most people are going to come back negative, but it gives us a better baseline to be able to make some of the decisions.”

Memorial Healthcare, Broward Health and Cleveland Clinic are all working through the criteria, protocol and how the testing will be run.

They’re looking to set up the testing sites away from hospital properties to make sure that anyone who has symptoms of the coronavirus won’t be anywhere near hospital grounds.

Memorial Healthcare said that people need to stop showing up to emergency rooms expecting to get tested for the coronavirus, as people who are in the ER for other reasons can get infected that way.

The state has also requested from the federal government hundreds of thousands of pieces of medical equipment, as well as millions of masks for healthcare workers in Florida to help treat those that may be infected with the virus.

—

Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.